After three violent attacks in two weeks we ask: Is crime in Market Rasen on the rise or not?

Three people have been hospitalised after violent attacks in the street in Market Rasen in just two weeks.

After the Market Rasen Mail reported about an assault on a 42-year-old man - named locally as ‘Plumber’ - in Union Street two weeks ago, two more attacks have taken place in town centre locations.

At 12.36am on Sunday January 19, a man had his nose broken and suffered cuts to his face following what police called an “unprovoked attack” at The George in George Street.

The 45-year-old was punched in the nose and mouth.

A police spokesman said no-one had been arrested but enquiries were ongoing.

On the same night, shortly after midnight, a man was assaulted by two men at Rasen Pizza House in Queen Street.

Police confirmed he suffered a broken ankle after reportedly having his leg slammed in a door. There is little or no description of the offenders. One of the men is described by police as “bald.”

The victim has been named locally as ‘Razz’ Davidson, 48.

On the same night, there was another fight in Queen Street involving two women and three men who were drunk.

Police said no arrests had been made in relation to any of the incidents on January 19 but enquiries were ongoing.

A police spokesman said he did not think crime was on the rise in Market Rasen and all of the assaults were common assaults and not the more serious offence of grievous bodily harm.

More than 50 Facebook comments were posted following the Rasen Mail’s initial reporting of the assaults on www.marketrasenmail.co.uk

One Market Rasen resident wrote: “Something’s got to be done to stop it getting worse.”

The concerns were echoed by councillors at a Market Rasen Town Council meeting last week.

There is a meeting of the local policing panel this morning, (Wednesday January 29) at Market Rasen Police Station at 10am.

Steve Boryszczuk posted that he would raise the views and concerns of Market Rasen residents with officers at the meeting.

Anyone with information about the incident in George Street should contact police on 101 quoting incident 8 of January 19.

Anyone with information about the incident at Rasen Pizza House in Queen Street should contact police on the same number quoting incident number 10 of January 19.

What the crime figures show:

Crime in Market Rasen is still lower than in many other parts of Lincolnshire which has seen a county-wide reduction in offences.

But do figures suggest crime in Market Rasen has increased over the last year?

In November 2012, there were 59 crimes reported. Last November, the figure was 80.

This compares to 74 crimes in October 2013 (56 in October, 2012), 69 in September (58), 52 in August (49), 64 in July (48), 59 in June (49), 39 in May (69), 44 in April (70), 40 in March (62) and 49 in February (39).

The number of violent attacks varied during this period between one in March 2013 and eight in both May and September 2013.

The most common type of crime reported in Market Rasen is anti-social behaviour.

In comparison, Caistor, a town of similar size, saw 55 crimes reported in November 2013, 40 in October, 54 in September, 49 in August, 57 in July, 47 in June, 42 in May, 55 in April and 31 in March. Between May and November 2013, there were 19 reports of violent crime in Caistor. This compares to 40 reports in Market Rasen.